Worldwide leader sets pace with news

WEEKEND WATCHDOG

My ESPN folder is overflowing with all kinds of notes and nuggets, so with the dog days of summer upon us there's no better time to scribble it all down.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY

After years of being snubbed, America's favorite sport finally gets its due when College Football Today debuts Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Think about it. During its 28-year history, ESPN has produced numerous daily highlight/analysis shows including Baseball Tonight, NFL Live, NASCAR Now, NBA Fastbreak and NHL 2Night. Yet it's just now getting around to spotlighting a sport that has been part of its foundation since Day One.

That college football is going daily is a good thing, but that afternoon time slot -- it will be moved to 2 p.m. and ESPN2 when the NFL season begins -- isn't exactly prime.

The 30-minute show will be hosted by Rece Davis, who will be joined by commentators such as Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Lou Holtz.

I GOT SHOTGUN

With NASCAR returning to ESPN next weekend in Indianapolis, USA Today reports the net is interested in having a reporter ride in the passenger seat alongside the likes of Tony Stewart or Jeff Gordon during races.

It's safe to say we'll see Lisa Nowak flying for NASA again before this happens.

Though if you think about it, this actually might be safer for the reporters than, say, standing on pit road with Kurt Busch pulling in for fuel.

DANNY BOY

Rumors have been swirling for weeks about Dan Patrick's next career move. First he was taking over for Bob Barker as The Price Is Right host. Then he was mentioned as a replacement for Don Imus.

Now the Los Angeles Times reports he will be joining something called the "Content Factory," which according to founder Jimmy de Castro is an "exciting endeavor that will revolutionize and customize how broadcasting content will be distributed for both the traditional and the multitude of new media channels that exist today."

Patrick has made it known he wants a syndicated show similar to what Jim Rome has, and that's what the deal promises, according to the Times. But I must say I wasn't impressed when I Googled the company. From the sounds of this, he'd be better off taking whatever's behind Door No. 3.

A BAD BET

ESPN's second year of live pay-per-view coverage of the World Series of Poker began Tuesday. For just $19.95 fans can purchase the package for their TV screens or computers.

I can't fathom why anyone would buy this, but as George Costanza once told a Japanese television executive to whom he was pitching the Jerry pilot, "People will watch it because it's on TV."

WHO'S NEXT

Not sure what this means, but every time I see one of those "Who's Now" segments on SportsCenter, I envision Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon urinating on a giant satellite dish. If you've missed any of the segments, don't worry, The Worldwide Leader likely will roll out a DVD box set for $19.95.

WNBA LIVES

The WNBA announced a new television contract with ESPN/ABC that will give it rights fees for the first time. The eight-year deal will begin in 2009 and go through 2016.

Financial details were not released, but you can bet David Stern and company bent over backward to give the league and ESPN a sweet deal to keep it on the air.

We hate to be cynical, but this is sort of like a teenage girl crashing her Corvette, only to find her brand-new Lamborghini parked in the driveway -- courtesy of Stern, errrr, dad.

HOT DOG!

Speaking of rights deals, ESPN's contract with the International Federation of Competitive Eating to televise the Fourth of July Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest expires this year, and The New York Times reports that Spike TV is trying to wrestle the deal away. Memo to IFCE: Before biting the hand that feeds you (ESPN), you might want to take a look at those NHL ratings on Versus.

THINK ABOUT IT

"I guess the question I'd ask to you is, would [sports fans] be better off if there were no ESPN?"